WHY: To commemorate the actual birthday of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr., founder and president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition will spend the night at Pacific Garden Mission speaking and praying with the shelter residents.

Before his death Dr. King’s last major effort was to organize a Poor People's Campaign in Washington, D.C., that called for President Lyndon Johnson and Congress to help the poor get jobs, health care and decent homes.

“Approximately 46.2 million Americans living in poverty is a moral disgrace,” said Rev. Jackson. “There are too many people with too little living in too much poverty. Our national character is on trial. Dr. King understood that the civil rights movement, having ended segregation and gained the right to vote, had to challenge poverty and economic inequality. In his final days, he was building a poor people’s campaign, planning to bring people to the nation’s capital across lines of race, religion and region to create a Resurrection City and demand economic justice. He was the true precursor of Occupy Wall Street.

The Pacific Garden Mission has been a steadfast anchor in the Chicago community since 1877. The Mission has served as a safe-haven for homeless men and women, offering nourishment for both body and soul. The mission caters to approximately 1100 men, women and children and prepares up to 1,800 meals a day.

The Rainbow PUSH Coalition is a progressive organization devoted to protecting, defending and expanding civil rights to improve economic and educational opportunity. The organization is headquartered at 930 E. 50th St. in Chicago. To learn more, please visitwww.rainbowpush.orgor call(773) 373-3366. To arrange an interview with Rev. Jackson, please call the numbers listed above. -30-